Originally posted by zelda_n64 Even reading about the SMC DA 35mm & 50mm cheap Pentax primes leaves me wondering whether to buy one of them.
I guarantee you that either of these will give you significantly better photos than the 18-55mm lens or the 50-200mm lens. Better low light performance, faster AF, sharper, more contrasty images, with vivid colours and lots of detail.
Keep in mind that the 18-55mm and 50-200mm are the most basic lenses in Pentax' current DSLR lineup. While they are not terrible, all the others are better. The other thing is that when you search info for a lens, you will find mostly threads and post of people complaining. That is because when someone has a problem with a lens, they go to a forum to write about it. There are thousands of other users of this lens that enjoy it and feel no need to go online and write about it (or look for "solutions", since they have no problem).
You have a great camera there, but its not reaching its full potential with the kit lenses. The main reason why people use those kit lenses is in WR situations or for travel, where a small, compact zoom with WR is really convenient.
And finally, technique is important, too. You can squeeze a lot out of that 18-55, but you can squeeze more out of the 35mm f2.4. You need to know how to squeeze, though, and that takes practice and a steady hand